Hewitt wins Channel Open

Lleyton Hewitt edged Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 7-6 (10) in the Tennis Channel Open final on Sunday for his 26th career title.

Written by Indo-Asian News Service

Read Time: 2 mins

Las Vegas:

Lleyton Hewitt edged Jurgen Melzer 6-4, 7-6 (10) in the Tennis Channel Open final on Sunday for his 26th career title.
Second-seeded Hewitt made the decisive break of the first set at 4-4, but dropped the first three games of the second set. He later fought off four set points before winning the thrilling tiebreaker. A Melzer double fault put Hewitt in command, giving him an 11-10 lead.
The fourth-seeded Melzer netted the next point, handing the Australian his first title since June at London, and extending his streak of winning at least one championship for 10 consecutive seasons.
"I felt like I was in every point with him and had a chance to win on his service game," Hewitt said. "He played better when his back was against the wall. He opened his shoulders and returned very well."
Hewitt, the former world No 1, committed 21 unforced errors and wasn't as dominant as his convincing victories in the quarterfinals and semifinals. He had 10 aces in a 6-3, 6-2 quarterfinal victory over Feliciano Lopez and followed with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Marat Safin in the semifinals.
"It's good to get a win with the three majors coming up the rest of the year," Hewitt said.
Melzer, ranked No 31, had 10 aces and kept Hewitt chasing around the court for most of the match. The Austrian dropped to 1-5 in career ATP finals, and 0-5 lifetime against Hewitt.
"I had enough chances to get it to a third set. Some of them were just unlucky," Melzer said. "Being in the finals is nice, but you want to win it."
Hewitt improved to 26-3 in the event, also capturing titles in 2000 and 2003 when it was played in Arizona. He was runner-up in 1999 and last year.